Sky Blues Under-21s boss John Dempster has praised exciting midfielder Marco Rus for his match-winning performance against Birmingham City Under-21s on Tuesday afternoon.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who joined the Club from Premier League side Southampton back in 2021, scored the goal that sealed victory in Coventry, skipping past numerous challenges and finding the bottom corner with an expert finish.
His performance at the CBS Arena was the latest in a string of fine showings for the creative midfielder, who also thrived during a mid-season loan spell with Hereford.
Harrison Nee was also on target, finding the corner with a powerful effort from outside the penalty area.
Along with the win came a clean sheet for the young Sky Blues, made all the sweeter for Dempster given the youthful look of his Under-21s side that included many of the Club's young scholars.
On the win over Birmingham City:
"It was a very good Under-21s game. It was an even first half with both teams building well from the back, but we were both lacking quality in the final third.
"However, we were the better team in the second half. We had more of the ball and we opened Birmingham up, and scored goals.
"It was great to see us capitalise on those chances with goals from Harrison Nee and Marco Rus.
"Harrison's goal was a well-worked short corner that involved Will Bapaga, Evan Eghosa and then Harrison, a very clinical finish."
"Marco's goal was a counter-attack goal that involved Will and Evan again, with Marco finding the bottom corner with a great strike."
On the clean sheet, with a young Under-21s group:
"To finish the game with a clean sheet, despite our defence being so young, was a huge positive for us.
"So many of the young players in our group have now experienced a lot of Under-18s football and are now getting a taste for Under-21s football, as well.
"For them to perform as they did at the CBS, under a lot more pressure and against our local rivals, was incredibly pleasing to see.
"Hopefully, they can step up and show what they can do between now and the end of the season as we have some big games coming up.
"There will be times when they play teams a lot older than them and, even if they don't get the result, there is so much for them to learn from those games."
On Marco Rus, his performance and his goal:
"Marco has been training and playing very well lately. He is one of the many players who we think an awful lot of.
"He has the ability to drive with the ball into spaces and create goals for both himself and others around him.
"He has shown that all season and did it once again throughout the game on Saturday."